(Pretty sure this has been posted before, but this thread has been going in circles for a while anyway)

Or the fear of getting caught by the county Sheriff. Although that applies to both religious and non religions people.

What would be interesting is to take three similar populations (same ethnicity/culture/age ranges/education/wealth) of people, one very religious, one moderate, and one non-religious and have them live together in three separate communities with no law enforcement. No police, courts, etc. See which one had the most crime/violence. If there was any difference. Probably would have to do it hundreds of times to eliminate other factors that could create more/less crime, but would be interesting to see if a trend emerged.

The frightening thing is that any act of cruelty or violence can be justified because "God's Law" supersedes "Man's Laws" in the mind of this kind of "Believer". There is no "Free Will" only "God's Will". As in this case the guilty are even praised by the "Flock".

I think people need stability, to know what everything means. Why we're here. Religion, Atheism, Anti-Theism, Science are all to give the believer a sense of security, sometimes at the cost of family, friends, Life.

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

- Brennan Manning

__________________“Absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence."http://laserpointerforums.com/donations.htm“The end of life is not to be happy, nor to achieve pleasure and avoid pain, but to do the will of God, come what may.”—Martin Luther King